Awardee OrganizationUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Description
Abstract Text
PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT—PROJECT 3
Social inequalities related to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic (SES) status lead to spatial patterning in
neighborhood risk factors, where certain groups such as Hispanics are disproportionately exposed to
environmental hazards (e.g., air pollution, toxic releases) and place-based social stressors such as crime,
poverty and deprivation. This “double jeopardy” contributes to their increased susceptibility and to persistent
maternal health disparities, with Hispanics at a significant disadvantage compared to whites in terms of
pregnancy-related maternal morbidity and mortality and access to postpartum health care. Pregnancy and early
postpartum years are also a time of high residential mobility (i.e., address moves), which is important to capture
to better inform exposure assessment of not only the residence but also the full geographic and temporal context
around it, including the built, physical and chemical environment which may also contribute to health disparities.
One health indicator thought to contribute to increased susceptibility within disparity populations is allostatic load
(AL), where allostasis refers to the body’s multisystemic ability to regulate internal physiology in response to
actual and anticipated objective or perceived stressors. The AL model posits that repeated, chronic exposure to
hazards and stressors can dysregulate the body’s adaptive systems leading to “wear and tear” on organ systems
and negative outcomes over the life course, such as cardiovascular, cognitive and stress-related diseases, with
important racial and ethnic differences. Air pollution, social stressors and neighborhood socioeconomic
deprivation have all been associated with AL. Yet very few studies have investigated the contribution of joint
exposure to environmental hazards and social stressors during pregnancy and postpartum on AL, particularly in
racial and ethnic minorities and low SES groups. Our project interrogates this question in our recently established
MADRES pregnancy cohort of predominantly low income, Hispanic women in Los Angeles, CA. We aim to first
understand distinct patterns in neighborhood and residential environmental exposures and social stressors in
relation to residential mobility during pregnancy and postpartum, and then investigate their effects on maternal
AL as an early indicator of stress maladaptation in the first four years postpartum. In addition, we will investigate
whether individual-level characteristics such as demographics, psychosocial stressors and acculturation modify
these effects using a multilevel framework. Our proposed project will contribute to advancing the science of
environmental health disparities by providing a scientific basis for how the environment interacts with social
stressors across multiple levels to impact physiological mechanisms that may signal early stress maladaptation
and increased risk before onset of disease in disparity populations.
Public Health Relevance Statement
Data not available.
NIH Spending Category
No NIH Spending Category available.
Project Terms
AcculturationAddressAdrenal GlandsAffectAgeAir PollutionBody SystemCardiovascular systemCharacteristicsChemicalsChildChronicCognitiveCountryCrimeDevelopmentDisadvantagedDiseaseDisparity populationEnvironmentEnvironmental ExposureEnvironmental HazardsEnvironmental HealthEnvironmental ImpactEnvironmental Risk FactorEthnic OriginExposure toFrequenciesGeographyHealthHealthcareHispanicHispanic PopulationsHouseholdHypothalamic structureImmuneIndividualInflammationInvestigationJointsLanguageLeadLife Cycle StagesLos AngelesLow incomeMaternal ExposureMaternal HealthMaternal MortalityMeasuresMental DepressionMetabolicModelingNeighborhoodsNeurosecretory SystemsOnset of illnessOutcomePatternPhysiologicalPhysiologyPituitary GlandPoliciesPostpartum PeriodPovertyPredispositionPregnancyRaceResidential MobilityRiskRisk FactorsSignal TransductionStressSystemTimeWomanallostasisallostatic loadcardiovascular disorder riskcohortdemographicsdeprivationdisparity reductionenvironmental health disparityenvironmental stressorethnic differenceethnic disparityethnic minorityhazardhealth care service utilizationhealth disparityhealth of the motherimprovedlow socioeconomic statusmaternal morbiditypostpartum carepostpartum healthpsychosocial stressorsracial differenceracial disparityracial minorityresidenceresponsesocialsocial disparitiessocial stressorsocioeconomicsstressor
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
CFDA Code
DUNS Number
072933393
UEI
G88KLJR3KYT5
Project Start Date
01-September-2015
Project End Date
31-March-2026
Budget Start Date
01-April-2024
Budget End Date
31-March-2025
Project Funding Information for 2024
Total Funding
$256,906
Direct Costs
$152,567
Indirect Costs
$104,339
Year
Funding IC
FY Total Cost by IC
2024
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
$256,906
Year
Funding IC
FY Total Cost by IC
Sub Projects
No Sub Projects information available for 5P50MD015705-10 5885
Publications
Publications are associated with projects, but cannot be identified with any particular year of the project or fiscal year of funding. This is due to the continuous and cumulative nature of knowledge generation across the life of a project and the sometimes long and variable publishing timeline. Similarly, for multi-component projects, publications are associated with the parent core project and not with individual sub-projects.
No Publications available for 5P50MD015705-10 5885
Patents
No Patents information available for 5P50MD015705-10 5885
Outcomes
The Project Outcomes shown here are displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institutes of Health. NIH has not endorsed the content below.
No Outcomes available for 5P50MD015705-10 5885
Clinical Studies
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News and More
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History
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Similar Projects
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